Internet search leader Google has signed a letter of intent with Digg to purchase the social news site for around $200 million, technology blog TechCrunch reported.
The report said the deal would be finalised within two weeks and that Digg would continue to operate as part of the Google News operation, which already runs one of the most popular news sites on the Web.
In contrast to Google News, where the stories are selected by computer algorithm, Digg's news stories are submitted by users and ranked according to user approval ratings.
The report said that Google was interested in using Digg's technology to help improve its search results by having users vote on their quality.
Digg was formed in 2004 by entrepreneur Kevin Rose who used a programmer he found online for $10 an hour.
He paid $1,200 dollars for the domain name and $100 a month for hosting the site, which is now ranked as one of the 100 most trafficked sites on the Internet.
Digg has so far raised $11.3 million in venture capital. Most of Digg's revenue comes from a three-year ad deal with Google rival Microsoft, which will be terminated on a sale to Google, TechCrunch said.
Google has also come up with a new online encyclopaedia to counter Wikipedia.
Users will be allowed to write articles on their own areas of expertise on the new free service called ‘Knol’, which stands for unit of knowledge.
Google hopes that Internet users will contribute to articles on a wide range of topics, from gardening and pottery to Byzantine art and neo-classical literature.
Google insists that its new service differs from Wikipedia in many respects. The search engine pioneer says that, unlike Wikipedia that allows visitors to edit its pages, people will not be able to make changes or contribute to a person's knol without their permission.
The firm also says that knols written on the same subject will also remain separate and compete for the attention of visitors, and that the users will be allowed to give online feedback.
Knol Web pages will also feature pictures of their authors, Google says.
"We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of Web content," the Telegraph quoted Udi Manber, Google's vice president of engineering, as saying.
"Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors; but somehow the Web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors names highlighted," Manber added.
Knol writers will also be able to make money from the service if they allow advertisements relating to their articles to appear on their pages.
Juergen Galler, Google's director of product management said, "The Internet is huge, but still a lot of expert knowledge remains untapped. Knol provides a way for people to share their expertise with others -- and get credit for their contribution."
The new service is part of Google's plans to expand its operations beyond its search engine facility.
Those wishing to write a knol may visit the website knol.google.com.
The report said the deal would be finalised within two weeks and that Digg would continue to operate as part of the Google News operation, which already runs one of the most popular news sites on the Web.
In contrast to Google News, where the stories are selected by computer algorithm, Digg's news stories are submitted by users and ranked according to user approval ratings.
The report said that Google was interested in using Digg's technology to help improve its search results by having users vote on their quality.
Digg was formed in 2004 by entrepreneur Kevin Rose who used a programmer he found online for $10 an hour.
He paid $1,200 dollars for the domain name and $100 a month for hosting the site, which is now ranked as one of the 100 most trafficked sites on the Internet.
Digg has so far raised $11.3 million in venture capital. Most of Digg's revenue comes from a three-year ad deal with Google rival Microsoft, which will be terminated on a sale to Google, TechCrunch said.
Google has also come up with a new online encyclopaedia to counter Wikipedia.
Users will be allowed to write articles on their own areas of expertise on the new free service called ‘Knol’, which stands for unit of knowledge.
Google hopes that Internet users will contribute to articles on a wide range of topics, from gardening and pottery to Byzantine art and neo-classical literature.
Google insists that its new service differs from Wikipedia in many respects. The search engine pioneer says that, unlike Wikipedia that allows visitors to edit its pages, people will not be able to make changes or contribute to a person's knol without their permission.
The firm also says that knols written on the same subject will also remain separate and compete for the attention of visitors, and that the users will be allowed to give online feedback.
Knol Web pages will also feature pictures of their authors, Google says.
"We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of Web content," the Telegraph quoted Udi Manber, Google's vice president of engineering, as saying.
"Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors; but somehow the Web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors names highlighted," Manber added.
Knol writers will also be able to make money from the service if they allow advertisements relating to their articles to appear on their pages.
Juergen Galler, Google's director of product management said, "The Internet is huge, but still a lot of expert knowledge remains untapped. Knol provides a way for people to share their expertise with others -- and get credit for their contribution."
The new service is part of Google's plans to expand its operations beyond its search engine facility.
Those wishing to write a knol may visit the website knol.google.com.
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